Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Contract Details: Anthony, JJJ, Holmgren, J. Williams, Gafford

July 15th, 2025 at 10:55am CST by Luke Adams

Cole Anthony, whose previous cap hit had been $13.1MM, gave up exactly $2MM as part of his buyout agreement with the Grizzlies, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Memphis subsequently used the stretch provision to spread the $11.1MM still owed to Anthony across three seasons, resulting in annual cap hits of $3.7MM through 2027/28.

The move reduced Anthony’s 2025/26 cap charge by $9.4MM, generating the cap room necessary to renegotiate Jaren Jackson Jr.‘s ’25/26 salary from roughly $23.4MM up to $35MM, as Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron tweets. That allowed the Grizzlies to give Jackson a $49MM salary (ie. a 40% raise) in the first year of his new extension, which increases to $50.5MM in 2027/28 and $52MM in ’28/29, with a $53.5MM player option for ’29/30.

Jackson is now owed exactly $240MM over the next five seasons, having received approximately $216.6MM in new money in his agreement with Memphis.

Here are a few more details on contracts from around the NBA:

Chet Holmgren‘s new five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension with the Thunder doesn’t include Rose Rule language, but Jalen Williams‘ five-year max extension does, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks at Sports Business Classroom. According to Marks, Williams’ deal will start at 30% of the 2026/27 salary cap if he wins MVP, is named Defensive Player of the Year, or makes the All-NBA first team next season. If he makes the All-NBA second team, it would start at 27% of the cap, while a spot on the All-NBA third team would result in a starting salary at 26%. No All-NBA berth, MVP, or DPOY for Williams would result in a salary worth 25% of next year’s cap, matching Holmgren’s deal.
As expected, the terms of Daniel Gafford‘s new three-year veteran extension with the Mavericks are the maximum the team could have given the big man while maintaining his trade eligibility, tweets Marc Stein. Gafford got a 20% raise for 2026/27 to $17,263,584, with 5% annual raises for the next two seasons. The new three-year contract is worth a total of $54.38MM, on top of the $14.39MM he’ll make in 2025/26.
Rockets forward Jeff Green, Spurs guard Jordan McLaughlin, and Bucks wing Gary Trent Jr. have joined the list of players who waived their right to veto a trade in 2025/26 when they re-signed with their respective teams, Hoops Rumors has learned. A player who signs a new one-year deal (or two-year deal with a second-year option) with his previous team typically gets trade veto rights for that season, but those can be forfeited as part of the contract agreement.

Thunder Sign Chet Holmgren To Five-Year Max Extension

July 13th, 2025 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

July 13: The Holmgren extension has been made official, per a press release from the Thunder.

July 9: Thunder big man Chet Holmgren has agreed to a fully-guaranteed, five-year maximum rookie contract extension, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (Twitter link).

Holmgren’s first-year salary under the extension will start at 25% of the 2026/27 salary cap, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection, that would work out to a five-year, $240MM deal.

The second pick of the 2022 draft, Holmgren has battled through injuries in his first three years as a pro but has excelled during his time on the court.

After not playing at all during the 2022/23 season due to a foot injury suffered during the offseason, Holmgren bounced back to start every game in the 2023/24 season, averaging 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks per night.

A pelvic fracture limited Holmgren to 32 regular season games this past season. He posted averages of 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 blocks prior to the playoffs, then started all 23 postseason contests en route to the franchise’s first championship since moving to Oklahoma City. He averaged 15.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.9 blocks during the title run.

Holmgren joins league Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander among current OKC players to receive max extensions. The next order of business is to give star forward Jalen Williams a max contract of his own. He’s also eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason.

While we’ll wait for the official details to confirm, it doesn’t sound as if Holmgren’s deal will include Rose Rule language that could increase the value of that first year beyond 25% of the cap if he makes an All-NBA team, wins Defensive Player of the Year, or is named MVP.

Charania’s report does say the value of the extension could reach $250MM, which would exceed the projected value of a standard 25% max deal even if the cap rises by the maximum allowable 10% next year (it’d be worth $246.6MM in that scenario). However, that may just be a case of generously rounding up.

Jalen Williams Signs Five-Year Max Extension With Thunder

July 13th, 2025 at 12:05pm CST by Rory Maher

July 13: Williams’ extension is official, the Thunder announced in a press release.

July 10: The defending champion Thunder and All-Star forward Jalen Williams have agreed to a maximum-salary rookie scale extension that covers five years, agents Bill Duffy and Justin Haynes tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Jordan Richard of Swish Cultures was first to report the news (via Twitter).

Williams’ new five-year extension is fully guaranteed and does not feature a player or team option, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Williams’ extension will kick in during the 2026/27 campaign and he will earn at least 25% of that season’s salary cap. Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection, that would work out to a five-year, $240MM deal.

I used the term “at least” because all three reports state that Williams could earn more than that (up to $287MM), which implies his new deal has Rose Rule language that would make him eligible for a starting salary worth up to 30% of next season’s cap if he meets certain performance criteria, such as making an All-NBA team.

The 24-year-old wing is coming off a career-best season in which he averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.6 steals in 32.4 minutes per game across 69 outings, with a .484/.365/.789 shooting line. He earned a spot on the All-Defensive second team, as well as the All-NBA third team.

Despite that All-NBA nod in 2025, Williams has not yet met the Rose Rule performance criteria — he will have to achieve the performance criteria again in 2026 to reach that higher salary.

Williams averaged 21.4 points per game for the Thunder during their postseason run to a championship despite dealing with a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist, which he underwent surgery to address. He recently said he was dealing with a wrist sprain for most of last season and tore the ligament on April 9.

Charania reported on Wednesday that Williams and the Thunder had “momentum” on an extension. Oklahoma City also agreed to five-year, maximum-salary deal with big man Chet Holmgren on Wednesday, though his rookie scale extension does not appear to contain Rose Rule language.

The Thunder have now locked up MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren to long-term mega-deals this offseason, with SGA officially signing his super-max extension on Tuesday.

Northwest Notes: Valanciunas, Nuggets, Thunder, J. Gentry

July 12th, 2025 at 8:21am CST by Rory Maher

The agreed-upon trade between the Nuggets and Kings that will send Jonas Valanciunas to Denver and Dario Saric to Sacramento will likely be completed this weekend, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter links).

According to Stein, the delay was due to the Nuggets needing additional time to finalize “all aspects” of their Michael Porter Jr./Cameron Johnson trade with the Nets. Both of those players have extensive injury histories, so that may have played a factor, though Stein didn’t explicitly say that.

Denver had to formally complete the Porter/Johnson deal before it could acquire Valanciunas due to the way the trades were structured.

Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Head coach David Adelman believes Valanciunas can be the offensive hub of the Nuggets‘ second unit, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post relays. “Point center. You can play combo guards. You don’t need a lead point guard (in lineups with Valanciunas),” Adelman said on ESPN’s Summer League broadcast. “You can play five-out offense, play off the elbow, post him up. He’s such a skilled player. … He shoots the ball better than most people realize. So that’s how I envision him. I think you have multiple combination guards. You can get away with that with a guy like that.”
The Thunder have signed (or are signing) their top three players — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren — to maximum-salary extensions this summer. Sam Quinn of CBS Sports explains why Oklahoma City is uniquely well positioned to manage the punitive aspects of having an expensive payroll in the future, noting that the defending champions may not operate over the second tax apron until the 2027/28 season.
The Timberwolves are hiring Jack Gentry — a former Lakers coaching associate — to be their new head video coordinator, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Jack is the son of longtime NBA coach Alvin Gentry, who is currently a member of Sacramento’s front office.

Jalen Williams, Thunder Have ‘Momentum’ Toward Extension

July 10th, 2025 at 8:27am CST by Luke Adams

After agreeing to extend Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren since the new league year began, the Thunder will now “fully focus” on getting a contract extension done with star wing Jalen Williams, ESPN’s Shams Charania said during a Wednesday appearance on NBA Today (YouTube link).

“There is momentum in those conversations with the Thunder between both sides,” Charania said. “There’s been positive talks, and both sides are aligned on where those negotiations are going.”

Like Holmgren, Williams is entering the final year of his rookie scale contract in 2025/26, making him eligible for a rookie scale extension. His standard maximum-salary extension would be worth 25% of the ’26/27 cap, but he and the Thunder could agree to Rose Rule language that would make him eligible for a starting salary worth up to 30% of next season’s cap if he meets certain performance criteria, such as making an All-NBA team.

Williams is coming off a career-best season in which he averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.6 steals in 32.4 minutes per game across 69 outings, with a .484/.365/.789 shooting line. He earned a spot on the All-Defensive second team, as well as the All-NBA third team.

Despite that All-NBA nod in 2025, Williams has not yet met the Rose Rule performance criteria — if he and Oklahoma City negotiate an extension that includes the possibility of his salary exceeding 25% of next season’s cap, he’d have to achieve the performance criteria again in 2026 to reach that figure.

Williams averaged 21.4 points per game for the Thunder during their postseason run to a championship despite dealing with a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist, which he recently underwent surgery to address.

As ESPN’s Brian Windhorst relays, Williams said in a YouTube video this week that he was battling a right wrist sprain for much of the season and suffered the torn ligament during an April 9 game against Phoenix. Between that time and the Thunder’s Game 7 win over Indiana last month, the 24-year-old said he received constant lidocaine injections and cortisone shots to manage the pain.

“I got 28 or 29 shots in my hand throughout the playoffs,” Williams said. “And I was like, ‘That can’t be for nothing. We have to win.’ So, that was my mentality.”

Williams’ shooting percentages dipped to 44.9% from the field and 30.4% on three-pointers during the playoffs, which he said was a result of changing his motion due to the wrist injury.

“I didn’t want to tell the world that I was hurt, and so the world just ganged up on me about how I wasn’t ready for the moment. Which obviously is wrong now,” Williams said. “But that was the most annoying thing, because human nature is you want to just scream that you’re hurt. But I was able to lock in and not use that as an excuse.”

Groups Set For 2025 NBA Cup

July 9th, 2025 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced the six groups of five teams apiece for the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup, also known as the in-season tournament (Twitter link).

In order to set the groups, the league splits the Western and Eastern Conferences into five three-team tiers based on last season’s regular season standings, with one club from each tier randomly drawn into each of the conference’s three groups.

For instance, the top three teams from the West will all be in separate groups, with each of those three groups also featuring one team in the 4-6 range, one in the 7-9 range, and so on.

Here are the groups for the 2025 NBA Cup:

West Group A: Oklahoma City Thunder (1), Minnesota Timberwolves (6), Sacramento Kings (9), Phoenix Suns (11), Utah Jazz (15)
West Group B: Los Angeles Lakers (3), Los Angeles Clippers (5), Memphis Grizzlies (8), Dallas Mavericks (10), New Orleans Pelicans (14)
West Group C: Houston Rockets (2), Denver Nuggets (4), Golden State Warriors (7), Portland Trail Blazers (12), San Antonio Spurs (13)
East Group A: Cleveland Cavaliers (1), Indiana Pacers (4), Atlanta Hawks (8), Toronto Raptors (11), Washington Wizards (15)
East Group B: Boston Celtics (2), Detroit Pistons (6), Orlando Magic (7), Brooklyn Nets (12), Philadelphia 76ers (13)
East Group C: New York Knicks (3), Milwaukee Bucks (5), Chicago Bulls (9), Miami Heat (10), Charlotte Hornets (14)

The round-robin group play games will be starting a little earlier than usual this season and will run from October 31 to November 28. Each team will face the other four clubs in its group once, with the winners of each group and one wild card team from each conference advancing to the eight-team, single-elimination knockout round.

The full schedule of group play games can be viewed right here.

The quarterfinals will be played on December 9-10, with the semifinals and final to follow on Dec. 13 and Dec. 16, respectively, in Las Vegas. The knockout round games will all be aired by one of the NBA’s new broadcasting partners, Amazon Prime.

The Bucks won last season’s NBA Cup, with star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo earning MVP honors after leading Milwaukee to a victory over the Thunder in the championship game.

Alex Ducas To Sign With NBL’s Brisbane Bullets

July 8th, 2025 at 10:56pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Former two-way Thunder guard and NBA champion Alex Ducas is heading overseas at the conclusion of Summer League, as he’ll sign a one-year contract with the Brisbane Bullets of Australia’s National Basketball League, according to ESPN’s Olgun Uluc.

Ducas appeared in 21 games last season for the Thunder on a two-way contract, totaling 36 points in 125 minutes. Oklahoma City signed Ducas last offseason after he went undrafted following five seasons at Saint Mary’s, where he averaged 9.0 points per game and made 40.6% of his three-pointers over his collegiate career.

The 6’6″ guard is with the Thunder this month, but received a DNP in Tuesday’s final game of the Salt Lake City Summer League.

The Thunder have 2025 draftee and former Northwestern guard Brooks Barnhizer currently on a two-way deal and they reportedly agreed to one with Branden Carlson. That would leave Oklahoma City with one two-way contract to fill, although players can be swapped at any time.

The only remaining free agent from the Thunder’s championship-winning team is Adam Flagler, who spent last season on a two-way contract himself.

Thunder To Re-Sign Branden Carlson On Two-Way Deal

July 8th, 2025 at 5:54pm CST by Rory Maher

The defending champion Thunder are re-signing free agent big man Branden Carlson to a two-way contract, agent Ross Aroyo tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Carlson appeared in 32 games as rookie last season with the Thunder, averaging 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.7 minutes per contest. The 26-year-old was given a qualifying offer last month, making him a restricted free agent, so he may simply be accepting that QO, which is equivalent to another one-year two-way contract.

Carlson went undrafted in 2024 after spending his five-year collegiate career at Utah. The seven-footer originally signed a two-way contract with the Raptors but was cut just before the 2024/25 season began. He later signed a non-guaranteed deal and a pair of 10-day contracts with the Thunder before eventually sticking with the team for good on a two-way in February.

Second-round pick Brooks Barnhizer is also on a two-way contract with the Thunder, so the club will have one two-way slot still available after bringing back Carlson.

Contract Details: Turner, Robinson, Mitchell, NAW, Kyrie, Jones

July 8th, 2025 at 6:53am CST by Luke Adams

Myles Turner‘s new four-year contract with the Bucks came in a little higher than expected, as cap expert Yossi Gozlan notes (via Twitter).

Using the cap room left over after waiving and Damian Lillard and buying out Vasilije Micic (via the stretch provision), Milwaukee was able to give Turner a starting salary of $25,318,251. With annual 5% raises, his deal is worth a total of approximately $108.87MM. As previously reported, the contract also includes a fourth-year player option and a 15% trade kicker.

Here are a few more details on contracts officially signed around the NBA in recent days:

Using Simone Fontecchio‘s outgoing salary ($8,307,692) and the expanded traded player exception ($8,527,000), the Pistons were able to take back a maximum of $16,834,692 in incoming salary. Not coincidentally, that’s exactly the starting salary that Duncan Robinson got on his new deal with Detroit via sign-and-trade (Twitter link via Gozlan). Robinson’s three-year deal has a declining structure and offers few guarantees after the first year — just $2MM of his $15.99MM salary in 2026/27 is guaranteed, and his entire $15.15MM salary for ’27/28 is non-guaranteed.
Ajay Mitchell‘s new three-year deal with the Thunder came in a little lower than expected, at $8.7MM, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. It includes a fully guaranteed $3MM salary for 2025/26, replacing the team option Oklahoma City turned down that was worth the same amount. His $2.85MM salary for ’26/27 is partially guaranteed for $1.5MM, while ’27/28 is a $2.85MM team option.
Reported to be worth $62MM over four years, Nickeil Alexander-Walker‘s new contract with the Hawks came in at $60,647,200, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. It includes a fourth-year player option and a 7.5% trade kicker. It also declines in year two (from $15,161,800 to $14,403,710) before ascending again in year three ($15,161,800) and four ($15,919,890).
The three-year deal between Kyrie Irving and the Mavericks is worth $118,473,846, with a third-year player option and a 15% trade kicker, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. It starts at $36,566,002, with annual 8% raises.
Tre Jones‘ three-year, $24MM contract with the Bulls has a flat structure, with annual cap hits of $8MM, and a third-year team option, Hoops Rumors has confirmed.

Community Shootaround: Early Offseason Winners, Losers

July 5th, 2025 at 10:23am CST by Rory Maher

We’re in a quiet transactional period as we wait for the July moratorium to lift tomorrow. There are still a handful of top restricted free agents who have yet to sign new contracts, but with a dearth of cap space around the league, the players don’t have a ton of negotiating leverage, so it could take a while for those situations to play out.

John Hollinger of The Athletic recently weighed in on some of the biggest winners and losers to this point in the offseason. The article is technically centered around free agency, but it takes all offseason moves into account.

Hollinger lauds the moves the Hawks have made, including trading for Kristaps Porzingis, landing what could be an extremely valuable 2026 first-round pick from the Pelicans (only this deal is official), acquiring Nickeil Alexander-Walker in a sign-and-trade, and signing sharpshooter Luke Kennard. Atlanta still has its bi-annual exception available, Hollinger notes, and is about $7.4MM below the luxury tax line.

While they’re facing a minor roster crunch, Hollinger also likes the Hornets‘ offseason thus far, saying they had a strong draft (Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley, Sion James, Ryan Kalkbrenner) and have done solid work on the trade market, particularly adding Collin Sexton and a second-round pick from Utah for Jusuf Nurkic. He also views Spencer Dinwiddie as a nice pickup on a veteran’s minimum deal.

The defending champion Thunder are the third team on Hollinger’s list of winners, bringing back 14 of their 15 players on standard deals while essentially replacing Dillon Jones with first-round pick Thomas Sorber. Oklahoma City is below the luxury tax line and also retained Jaylin Williams and Ajay Mitchell on team-friendly deals, Hollinger observes.

The month of July is Hollinger’s biggest loser, as free agency is no longer the same type of event on the league’s schedule as it used to be, for a variety of reasons.

For actual teams, Hollinger thinks the Celtics and Pacers have taken steps back. He credits Boston’s front office for shedding the salaries of Porzingis and Jrue Holiday without having to attach sweeteners (the Celtics will actually receive two second-rounders from Portland in the Holiday deal).

But the Celtics also lost Luke Kornet in free agency and Al Horford is viewed as unlikely to return. And they still need to trim about $20MM from their books to move below the luxury tax to avoid the repeater penalty. The biggest question mark, according to Hollinger, is how can the Celtics position themselves to be a contender again in 2026/27, when Jayson Tatum has recovered from his torn Achilles tendon?

As for the Pacers, they’re on Hollinger’s list for losing longtime center Myles Turner to the division-rival Bucks in free agency. They still have pathways to find a new starting center, Hollinger writes, and their front office has largely done excellent work over the years. But Indiana is in a similar boat as Boston, with 2025/26 increasingly looking like a “gap year” in the wake of Tyrese Haliburton‘s Achilles tear and more uncertainty heading into ’26/27 with Turner no longer on the roster.

We want to know what you think. Do you agree with Hollinger’s winners and losers? Most people seem high on the Rockets’ moves, but they weren’t included. I was also mildly surprised to not see the Pelicans on the list of losers. Head to comment section to weigh in with your thoughts.